Turn Arrow on Northdale Not Likely, County Says

Last week we asked our readers to tell us what they'd change about Carrollwood and Northdale in 2013. We received several answers on the website and on the Carrollwood-Northdale Patch Facebook Page.

For the next few weeks, we plan to look into some of those suggestions to see if they're possible or not.

First up is a response to Nancy Stearns who wrote about the possibility of installing a left turn arrow at Northdale Boulevard and Dale Mabry Highway.

Here's what she wrote:

"Why can a left arrow control traffic turns at Fletcher and Dale Mabry and then be told that it can not be done at Northdale & Dale Mabry because of some federal highway laws."

Here's what Hillsborough County spokesman Steve Valdez had to say about it:

Installing a left turn signal or lane has nothing to do with federal law, Valdez said.

"We had proposed it about two years ago. We had public meetings out there to do just that. But the community came out in strong opposition to a left turn lane," Valdez said.

To install a left turn lane, the Northdale community sign and entrance planters may have been disrupted, Valdez said.

"We walked away with a very clear understanding that the community did not want that," he said. "They said there was not a problem there and they had worked for many, many years on building that entryway the way they wanted it to look."

As for a possible turn lane in the future?

"At this point and time, there are no funds available," Valdez said. "Funds were reassigned after the community rejected it. We have done everything we can do to make that a safe and accessible area and at the same time preserve the community's interest."

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